In World Drama Man Plays Three Different Roles
abracad, · Categories: externally authored, spirituality, yogaBy Lt Col R K Langar
Human life on earth has been described in a number of ways. It is said that life is a battle field (Dharamshetra as described in Bhagavad Gita) where there is a continuous battle going on inside a man between knowledge and ignorance, between discrimination and reactive attitude. Some say life is a school where we keep on learning as long as we live. Life is also described as a game which you must play and give in your best without competing with others. Life is also Yoga – a continuous process of self conquest for connecting with God which is also a process of self awareness or knowing "Who Am I". And in relation to the world life has also been described as a stage drama where we appear to play our roles and then leave the world.
If you analyze why life is described as a drama or stage in the world you will notice that as a stage drama has a short duration, say two to three hours. Human life has also a duration of maximum 100 years. A stage artist leaves the stage when his part in the drama is over. In the same manner a man leaves the world as his or her life span is completed. In the stage drama some artists have small and insignificant roles while some play longer and important roles like that of a hero or heroine. In worldly life also, some live for a long duration and are remembered for their contribution in life for the world’s upliftment even after they leave the world. Then there are some who live mechanically in the world without making any significant contribution. There are some others who live a short span of life on earth which is compatible with a stage artists who have a small role. All this leads us to assume that life on earth is akin to a stage drama.
For conducting a stage drama three things are absolutely essential, a script or a written text of the play, the artists who act and speak their dialogues as per the script and a Director who directs the artists as to how should they act and perform on the stage. The stage drama is much appreciated if the script is good, the artists play their roles in an effective manner and the Director knows his job and gets the best out of the artists of the stage play. In the stage play there are no retakes (if the scene in not well enacted) once if it is presented before the audience. Therefore, the artists of the play must be hundred percent conversant with what they have to speak and act minute to minute once the play starts before the audience. Similarly there are no retakes in worldly life.
Now let us compare world drama with the stage drama. The three main essentials of the stage drama -Â the script, the actor and the Director are equally applicable in the world drama but these roles are played by one man only who is born in the world. We shall discuss these three different roles and see how best the man can play them.
Script of stage drama as applicable in Man’s life
As per the theory of reincarnation or theory of the transmigration of Hindu Philosophy, each person who is born in the world carries with him sum total of the effects of past lives which are called “Samskarsâ€. These can be good as well as bad. Unlike a stage play where there is only one script for the entire artists, in actual life each man carries his own script which is quite different from what the other person carries. Man has no control over where he is born even though his birth is decided by the acts of the past lives. When such acts are good man will be born in a rich and good family. But once a man is born he has a free choice to act as he likes. If man does good work he shall neutralize to some extent, his bad Karmas of past lives, besides making him an elevated person in the present life. If the intensions behind work are good, then man will have the right attitude and always perform good actions in his life. His personal character will be upgraded and he shall develop good qualities inside him. We can say that man himself is the maker of his destiny.
Man as Actor
In a stage play, there is one script for the entire cast and they play their respective roles which are predetermined. Also there is no choice for the actors to act differently from what has been stated in the script. The stage artists also know their roles before hand till the drama is over. In worldly life each man carries his own script of which he is not aware of. Each person born on earth has to play different roles from an unknown script. For example if the actor is a man, he has to play different roles in life like that of a son, father, husband, brother, grandfather, a friend and many such like roles at different points of time in his life from birth to death. Similarly, if the actor is a female she has to play feminine roles correspondingly during her life.
Man as Director
In the world stage drama the Director is man himself who is directing the man as actor as how he should play his role in the world. The Director in man is God inside him as his Atma or soul which is a fraction of God. The Atma has three inherent Divine qualities – Truth, knowledge and Bliss. Too enable the man to play his role purposefully and righteously, man has to manifest these qualities inside him so that the Divine virtues associated with the Atma become an inseparable part of man and he displays them in his conduct in the world. Man as his own Director is the most important role out of all the roles he plays. When the man as his own Director uses his wisdom and power of discrimination, then man as actor will play his role righteously. Man as actor will evolve himself both spiritually and materially irrespective of the script which he carries with his birth. Bhagavad Gita says that the man is his best friend as well as the worst enemy. Best friend when he manifests his inside Divine qualities and uses them in his conduct. Man is his own worst enemy when he degrades himself with evil doings, ignoring the Divinity within.
Conclusion
Man has the capability to build up his own support system without relying on others and without expecting that some will come and tell him what to do. Human birth gives an opportunity to man to work for his own evolution. Man is potentially Divine and has in him a storehouse of knowledge and Divine virtues. What is required is to peep inside his own self and manifest all knowledge inside him by the process of the any of the four Yogas – Karma Yoga, Gyan Yoga, Bhakti Yoga or Raja Yoga (Meditation) singly or by combination. Man should always feel that he is a special entity as God resides in him as his soul. When he listens to the inner voice, God will tell him what to do when there is any doubt in his mind.
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Filed in: externally authored, spirituality, yoga
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